Don't Despair

It is very hard to watch what is happening in our country. It is easy to despair, to fall in to despondency, and to just turn away from it all. I’ve told you to turn off the noise, keep things in perspective, and find ways to take breaks and recharge your soul, but it doesn’t change things and sometimes it is not enough. When things are this dire it seems intolerable to wait for things to change. It seems like everything is going to hell and we need immediate action.

I can’t think of any other counsel to give but I must keep reminding you that this is all that we can do. Fight the battles as best you can, stay active, keep things in perspective, take breaks when needed, and to remind you that you are not alone. We who are in this fight find allies on every side. I will also remind you that these types of battles can last a long time.

Slavery persisted in this country for two hundred and forty six years and it took another one hundred years to pass the civil rights act. We are still fighting the battle against discrimination and racism today. The first battle for our country lasted twenty years and included eight years of war. We have lost much of what was won and many have given their lives in these causes. We celebrate them as heroes for their sacrifice and we must ask ourselves what are we willing to sacrifice in the cause of democracy, justice, and decency today?

The need to raise our voices in protest is ongoing. The demonstrations are ongoing. Up until now there have been few confrontations but nobody knows how long this will last. It seems inevitable that there will be more confrontations and that there will be attempts at violent suppression of protest and dissent. I am confident that non-violent resistance will continue and every patriot will be needed to restore the democracy that we have lost.

We are not seeking a return to the status quo that failed us. We are seeking to make a new American revolution that will repair the rends made in the fabric of democracy. We will restore the power of the people and establish new controls on the power of corporations and financial elites to bend and corrupt our government for their own benefit. We will create better institutions for the protection of our health and our environment. We will have to create new laws and institutions to act as watchdogs of technologies that can be used by government to surveil and suppress dissent. This will not be a new deal, it will be a restoration of the revolution started two hundred years ago. We will address the dangers to democracy that our forefathers didn’t foresee and create new protections against tyranny.

We will not give up or give in until we have restored democracy to the United States of America.